Four Years Short
by speeddemon56
Summary: A last conversation from someone in Gothel's past, and it's follow up many years later


***This story includes slight spoilers for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventures, up to the beginning of season 3.***

**Four Years Short**

She runs through the forest, glancing back over her shoulder to see if she's lost them. They're still there, and gaining fast, a crossbow bolt whizzes by her face, slamming into a nearby tree. The woman trips, her feet catch on her long robes (_why did I ever think these were a good idea?_). She hears the hounds closing in, the angry mob not far behind them.

She pulled out a few vials from the deep pockets of her robes (_ah yes, that's why I love you robes_), mixed their contents together and threw the vial out into the clearing in front of her, smoke bursting out of the mixture and billowing out. She pulled up the front of her robes to cover her nose as she backed away from the noxious fumes. It smelt the worst, which was nasty enough even when she was prepared for it, but she knew it'd be worse for the dogs.

Her prediction was proven true as she saw the dogs run into it and keeling and whining. She assumes they ran away or passed out, but she still had some problems, namely the townsfolk out for her blood. "Kill her! Kill the traitor!" She rolls her eyes at the chants she's hearing. (_I just did what any smart person would. It's not my fault that 'Lord' Demanitus didn't know which side to be on_). Even in her own head, the words ring hollow.

(_We left him, gained magical powers he couldn't dream of… and in his darkest hour he somehow managed to win, against all odds. I always thought… if we were on the losing side it just made sense to… not like it matters now_).

The forest was split up by a river, one that now barred her path. She could cross it, but it would slow her down, get her robes soaked and leave her vulnerable, to the townsfolk and the elements if hypothermia set in. She turned around saw the townsfolk slowly making their way after her, still continuing to chant. Reaching in her robes she finds nothing there but empty vials. (_Blast it all! I haven't had time to restock, not that Demanitus' teachings have ever really saved me_).

'**You called?**' She turns to see the spectral figure of a demon by her side. Even banished it can still manage to appear before her, even if only to her (from their bond, she deduces) as a transparent green outline. He has clawed hands, and the head of a goat's skull, the sockets glowing voids. The rest of his body was shrouded by his clothes, a variant of her own robes, not that she could make them out well with lack of details granted by his projection.

"Your help would have been appreciated before now, master" she snaps back. Possibly dangerous to do with her demonic master, but three days straight on the run have left her… cranky.

'**I had other matters to attend to.**' He says, calmly viewing the angry peasants marching towards them (_Of course he's calm, they're not out for his blood, nor would they have any chance of getting it_).

"What other matters could you have to be dealing with? Demanitus banished you."

He lets out an angry growl, more of a rumble than a true growl, but it still sets her skin on edge. '**I know what **_**that man**_** did. I was dealing with your fellows.**'

"And how are Sugracha and Tromus?"

'**Dead. As it seems you will be too, soon enough.**' He speaks the words calmly enough, but there is a hint of a wicked smirk on his face, to let her know that he's enjoying her fear. She looks out at the death marching towards her. Peasants (_Illiterate Fools! I'm smarter, and prettier, and better than all of them!_) making their way through the forest, carrying sickles and pitchforks and torches, and of course, one crossbow (_this can't be how I die. Surely, there's a way for me to survive_).

"Master, O great and powerful Zhan Tiri, please save!" She begs.

He chuckles '**Your fear, it's so… delicious. Ah, I enjoy it's scent, even here, trapped in a different dimension.**' He pretends to think it over for a few moments as the peasant's draw closer (_I know he's already made up his mind, whatever he's decided, he just likes to look like he's thinking it over_). '**Oh, you're not being fun. But I **_**do**_** need a worthwhile living servant, so I shall grant you a bit more power, Gothel**.'

At his words, Gothel feels the power surge into her. More than the rituals and long arcane workings she can make happen, pure destructive, demonic powers course through her. She cast her hand over the river turning a section of it into a bridge of ice for her to cross, which falls apart as soon as she's on the other side.

A simple warding of wind surrounds and protects her, and not a moment to late, as she's soon facing the crossbow bolts their crossbowman is sending her way. The wind deflects them and the peasants move through the river, undeterred by this set back. They move slowly, wading through, trying to keep a grip on their improvised weapons and keeping their torches above the water.

Half of them hare through the water, and Gothel waits, not taking another step back. The river doesn't have a heavy current so even though the going is slow, they're not in any danger of drowning (_Of course, that doesn't mean I can show them other kinds of dangers_). With a snap of her fingers she sends a bolt of lightning from her hands into the river, electrocuting all those within (_I suppose that's another useful tidbit of knowledge I picked up from Demanitus_).

Those in the river cry out in pain briefly, and then are silent. The other mob members take one fearful look at her and run away, scattering back into the forest. The hunter with the crossbow calls out "This isn't over! Demanitus will give us the tools we need to defeat you, vile witch!" He disappears in between the foliage as he escapes. She sneers but drops it as soon as everyone is gone.

'**Why did you let them flee?**' Zhan Tiri questions her after they're gone, the two of them watching the corpses float past them in the river.

"What would be the point? Even if I did, they'll just be back with more fools to chase me down soon enough." She turns and walks through her side of the forest.

'**The 'point' would be not letting those fools disrespect you. I've increased your magic, given you abilities to easily slay them, and they still frighten you? Pathetic, and worse, it looks bad on ****me**** as your patron, because you're so pathetic.**' She glares at the demonic projection. '**I wonder, are you truly scared of them or of my arch-nemesis?**'

"Of course I'm scared of him!" She snaps at him (_I thought him such a fool, that I had learned everything I had needed from him, and convinced Sugracha and Tromus to abandon him, but… he won. How much did I really know?_). "I- you know how tricky he can be. If I'm dead then you have no one left who can serve you?"

'**You'd serve me even in death, though I suppose I see your point.**'

"What?" She questions quietly not understanding, not believing it at first.

Zhan Tiri continues on, giving no sign that he's heard her. '**In that case you'd better hurry in bringing me back. You can't afford to fight them forever, and yes, even if 'lord' Demanitus got lucky and caught me off guard, you're right to assume that he'd be too much for one as weak as yourself. Best to-**"

She cuts him off "What do you mean, 'I'd serve you even in death?"

He looks at her, more quizzical at what could cause her to dare interrupt him than angry. '**You promised yourself to me, and that vow was far more binding than any marriage. We do not part in death, your spirit will serve me like all the others.**'

She tries to hide the rising horror she's feeling at what he's saying casually (_There's no reprieve, no point of rest? I- I hadn't thought that even after I was dead I'd…_). "Sugracha and Tromus…?"

He chuckles '**They're spirits serve me like everyone else who has made a deal with me. Of course, they're the closest to your world, and even their ability to act upon it is limited. Having a living servant that can empower me is **_**far**_** handier – for one, you can directly summon me back to your planet. So-**"

"NO! This isn't acceptable, I- I only meant to work with you-" She freezes up, pain wracking her body, stopping her ability to talk, almost to think even.

'**No? You refuse me, the great Zhan Tiri? You impudent brat! Your daring was appreciated when you sought me out and convinced your fellows to work for me, but I see I've let you go too far!**' The pain vanishes, but Gothel still collapses to the ground, winded by what her master did. '**I shall ensure you a life of pain and suffering if you ever try to go against me again, are we understood?**"

"We… are _perfectly_ understood" Gothel breathes out, still wheezing from her brief torture. She continues her walk through the forest.

'**Now where are you going? There isn't anything here to help you summon me. The lost city of Atlantis on the other hand-**'

"Don't assume you know everything. Ah, I'm here" she comments as she sees an odd circle of small stones in the forest.

'**A fairy circle. Useful, but nowhere near enough power to help you get myself back. Still, I'm curious to see where you're going with this.**' He motions with his hand for her to continue.

"Yes, I've got some fairly clever tricks up my sleeves, like this:" She steps into the center of the ring and a faint green-blue glow lights up around her. "I, Gothel, forsake my magic from this day forth." The glow around her intensifies.

'**What? WHAT!?**'

Gothel continues "Twice, I swear; I forsake my magic from this day forth." Thudding sounds, magic of the minor fae eminates all around her and fills the clearing.

'**Don't do this! You fool! Forswearing your magic will-**'

"It will free me from you" she let's out, barely a whisper. She raises her head defiantly and shouts her next words. "THRICEFOLD DO I CLEANSE MYSELF; I FORSAKE MY MAGIC FOREVERMORE!" The thudding suddenly stops, the lights cut out, and there's a sudden sense of emptiness around them.

'**You have condeemed yourself. What can you do without the magic I granted you? You are NOTHING without me! A fairy circle doesn't have the power to save your soul.**' Even as he shouts at her, he looks at himself, and sees the projection of him starting to crumble away.

"I am _free_ without you. Your claim on my soul could not be revoked by a fairy circle, you're correct, but you never had a claim on that, only on the magic bound to it. Now that I've given it up, my soul is free." She spits through the projection of her former master and let's out a joyous laugh.

Zhan Tiri growls and slashes at her powerlessly; he couldn't hurt her in such a manner before her ritual, and she can't even inflict pain upon her now. His body starts disintegrating further, the bottom half fully gone as he's being banished from her, along with every ounce of magic she once had. '**If you think this will save you, you ****are**** still mistaken. Do you think you can survive Demantius' minions without my magic? You'll die.**'

Her face catches in a panic, but she lets it go with a sigh. "Fine, maybe that's what I deserve, but when I'm dead, at least I'll be free of you."

Zhan Tiri's 'body' is almost completely gone now, only the shoulders and head remain fully, the arms starting to fade away too. He laughs deeply '**And you think that will save you? Where do you think you're going, after everything you've done?**' That catches her attention again. '**Just because I won't be your jailer doesn't mean you aren't damned. All the evils you've inflicted upon the world will send you straight to hell when you leave this world.**'

Gothel's eyes widen as she realizes the truth of his taunts. "No…"

'**Yes**' her former master hisses, the projection's destruction almost complete, only the floating goat skull is left, and it's edges are being torn away. '**Enjoy what little time you have left, for soon, you shall be dead. And after you die and begin your eternity of torment, I will be freed, eventually, and I shall laugh over your grave, pitiful human.**' He barely manages to get the last word out before the projection is fully gone.

She falls to her knees as the reality of the situation hits her. (_I've lost. I betrayed everyone and now, now…_) Tears start falling down before she shakes her head and clears her eyes. (_No! I am not some foolish girl, doomed for a few mistakes. Lord Demanitus thought I wasn't ready for the higher scientific knowledge he kept locked away, Zhan Tiri would use, discard, and dismiss me, but I'll prove them all wrong_).

She stands up and shouts to the heavens "I'll prove you all wrong! I won't face my fate, I'll outlast my former master and do what my former teacher never managed! I'll find the Sundrop and achieve immortality!"

The man walked through the cave, having to hunch his massive form down to squeeze through the small opening, breaking off a few bits of stone from the edges, not that he cared. He stretched back to his regular size as he entered the large clearing. The cliffs around it seemed to keep this ideal glade private from the rest of the forest, picturesque. As his cloven feet touched the ground, the grass and plants withered and died, turning grey and bleak as they shriveled away.

He stopped just before the ruins of a tower, crumpled before him, great black pointy rocks occupying where it once stood. He looked down at a certain spot on the ground before it (a block from the tower conveniently having fallen in front of it) and said "Hello Gothel" his deep voice booming out and echoing through the enclosed area.

There was no response – the woman had died many years ago, her spirit taken away, and only his finely tuned sense allowed him to sense the death that had occurred there. He continued speaking anyways, her presence wasn't the point. "I was drawn to you first by your resourcefulness and cunning, but even I didn't imagine you'd get as far as you did. You almost made it! Not you'd actually succeed, of course. In the end, I always win."

"Still, only four years short, Gothel. I wonder if you took my words to heart, really enjoyed those thousand extra years you stole." Even as he said it a sadistic smirk grew on his face. "But I think I know the answer to that: You didn't enjoy it, in fact you spent ever waking moment _terrified_ of what would happen. Constantly worried about your own mortality and what would come afterwards." He chuckled and wolves howled in warning in the background, far away.

The wind screamed around them, almost masking the otherworldly cries of pain from the souls shackled to his service. "I learned you never took on the power of the Sundrop fully for yourself. Wouldn't that have been freeing?" He laughs again, and the howling behind him increases. "But of course it wouldn't. You forsook your magic, and while the cosmic powers of the Sundrop could have easily broken that oath, then I would have been brought back. So you came up with a way to draw out it's power without embracing it yourself. Immortality with no price to pay." He claped his hands together and a booming sound reverberates throughout the valley, some of the bricks and debris from the tower blown away. "I _did_ tell Demanitus you were a clever one. And you managed to show us both, lasting this long, and finding the Sundrop that he never could."

The souls, barely visible to any human eyes (not that there are any here) start diving into the ground with a thought from their master. "I hear that humans are often surpassed by their children, and it seems like that's true even for you; both your daughters have gone past you, claiming the powers of both the Sun and the Moondrop." He reached out and touched a black spike, envious of the power it represented.

The first of many skeletal limbs clawed it's way out from the ground, pulling the rest of the animated bones behind it. "I think I've tarried long enough here, I've done what I said I'd do. Still, I think I can leave one final marking of… respect." He reached out with one talon like finger and began carving into the stone the still lay in front of the spot where she fell to her death. On it he wrote:

_In memory of Gothel_

_She was determined, resourceful, and ultimately died as she lived;_

_Pointlessly._

_May the fires of hell forever sear her_

He looked upon his work and let loose a full blown laugh, pillars of green flame erupting all around him. Turning he saw a small army of animal bones, controlled by the spirits he owned. He walked through the undead, the bones parting for him, and the decay spread further, ruining this land further, turning what had once been a hidden idyllic groove, into nothing more than a wasteland of death. "This was a fun detour" Zhan Tiri said as he got to the cave and smashed the opening larger, to make room for his minions. "I think I'm ready to return to Corona, to visit upon it's people what they deserved from so long ago. And also… I think a little get together is in order" he said, turning back to look at Gothel's grave. "I'd _**love**_ the chance to meet your daughters… and take what's mine." Having said his piece in full, Zhan Tiri left the ruin of Gothel's tower and marched with his army to Corona. To his destiny.

A/N: This is an idea I had for a while (which took a bit more work than I thought it would but I've finally gotten it done). With the reveal that Mother Gothel used to be a minion of Zhan Tiri, but never showed any magic of her own like Sugracha or Tromus did, I wanted to come up with an explanation for that, and for why she, who used to work for Zhan Tiri, had the Sundrop for centuries at least but never used it to free/help him. This is an answer I came up with, so I thought it would be cool to share this idea with others. I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to leave any reviews and comments you have on it.


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